Samsung's Galaxy A50 serves up a Galaxy experience for much less

If you're looking for a solid Android phone under $400, two of your best options are the Samsung Galaxy A50 and the Motorola Moto G7. The phones are $350 and $300 respectively, but they offer a lot, especially the Galaxy A50.

The Galaxy A50 features a 6.4-inch display, Android 9.0 and an octa-core Samsung Exynos 9610 processor.

Though both phones have about the same resolution, the Galaxy A50's screen is brighter and colors are more vibrant than the Moto G7's LCD screen. When viewing the phones at various angles, the color shift is more severe on the Moto G7 too, so the screen appears dimmer at certain angles.

I also prefer the Galaxy A50's overall design more. The camera bump is less prominent, the tear-drop notch is smaller and less obtrusive.  

Unlike the Moto G7 though, the A50 has no protection against water. While you can't dunk the Moto G7 underwater, it at least has a nano-coating that Moto says makes it water repellent against light splashes and sprinkles.

A look at the Galaxy A50's side and it's relatively flushed camera bump.

Both phones also have a 3.5mm headphone jack.

For photos, the Galaxy A50 has three rear cameras: a 24-megapixel wide-angle camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor.

While the Moto G7 has a respectable camera on its own, especially at its price, I found that the Galaxy A50 took better photos. In low light, the A50 brightens and punches up colors and it has a wider a greater dynamic range, meaning scenes with different lighting situations are exposed more evenly. 

Unlike the Moto G7 though, the A50 cannot shoot in 4K video. Instead, it shoots 1080p video, and videos were about on par with the Moto G7's 1080p video too.   

On the front is a 25-megapixel camera.

The Galaxy A50 consistently edged out the Moto G7 in benchmark tests. The phone's higher-capacity battery also lasted much longer than the Moto G7. During preliminary lab tests for continuous video playback on Airplane mode, the phone lasted an average of over 18 hours. The Moto G7 lasted only 12 hours and 51 minutes.  

The Moto G7 is still a fantastic phone, and it won our Editors' Choice for its inexpensive price, good camera, and reliable performance. But if you have $50 to spare, the Galaxy A50 is a better buy. Though it doesn't shoot 4K video and I'm not a huge fan of One UI, the A50's superior camera, long-lasting battery life, and faster processor make it the better buy.